Part III: Learner Analysis

Introduction
When creating instruction, it is crucial that characteristics about the learners who will be
using the instruction are considered and explored. With a Foundational Studies course, there is a
wide and diverse group of learners who are enrolled in Math 102. This section will discuss the
characteristics of the learners of the instruction and the resulting design implications.

Enrollment
Data available from Indiana State University for the Spring 2015 Math 102 courses
(Indiana State University, 2015b) show that there were 266 students who received a grade for
this course. 172 (65%) of the students were female, 94 (35%) of students male. These students
had an average age of 20 years and 6 months, with the average female age of 20 years and 1.7
months, and the average male age of 21 years and 2.3 months. The female students had a higher
overall GPA in this course (2.56 GPA versus 2.33 GPA for males).

Math 102 Students

94

Male
Female

172

Figure 1- Math 102 Students, Spring 2015

The class was composed of 72 Freshman (27%), 144 Sophomore (54%), 31 Junior (12%),
and 19 Senior (7%). Of these students, the grades assigned for this course varied significantly
from class to class. The Freshman Class had an average grade of 1.67; the Sophomore Class had
an average grade of 2.77; the Junior Class had the highest grade of 2.97; the Senior Class had an
average grade of 2.52.

Class
Freshman
Sophomore

19
31

72

Junior
144

Senior

Figure 2 - Math 102 Students by Class, Spring 2015

Grade in Math 102

4
3.5

2.97

2.77

2.52

2.5
2

1.67

1.5
1
0.5
0
Freshman

Sophomore

Junior

Grade in Math 102

Figure 3 - Grades by Class in Math 102 - Spring 2015

Senior

Demographically, the classes consisted of 68% White, 24% Black, 3% Multiracial, 3% Hispanic,
1% Asian, and 0.75% chose not to disclose their ethnicity.

3%
3%

Ethnicity
1%

1%

24%
68%

White

Black

Multiracial

Hispanic

Asian

Not Specified

Cognitive Characteristics.
Students enrolled in this course come from a wide variety of backgrounds, ages, majors,
and interests. Some are coming right from high school; others have worked and are returning to
school. Some of the students are majoring in Art Education; others are majoring in Aviation
Management. Some of the students are taking this course immediately before graduating; for
other students, this is one of their first college courses as a freshman. As a result, there are a
wide variety of cognitive characteristics of the students in this course.
Garrison (2013) states that college is a time unlike any other for late adolescents, for it
combines "academic rigor, intellectual exploration, moral investigation, and physical
maturation. Perry (1970) found that college students, as freshman, see a college course as a
storehouse for information. The goal of the course is to have the professor lead them to the
information that they need to learn. As the student progresses through their college career, they

begin to see more diversity in opinion, differing applications of material, and the benefit in the
process and not simply a focus on the end result. The search becomes not for the one right
answer but rather the process of discovery and application (Perry, 1970).
There is a wide variety of differentiation among these students; some students may be
majoring in areas where they have already shown emerging ability in mathematics, and have
begun to develop more talent in their mathematical reasoning ability. Other students, however,
may struggle as their strengths continue to emerge in other content areas and their interests
follow. As a result, it is important that there be enough flexibility in each project to meet the
needs of both the interested and engaged student as well as the student who is taking this as a
required course and who has strength in other content area. There also needs to be a mixture of
material where the students who are still in the teacher leads the way can be successful, as well
as those students who understand it is in the critical thinking and process of discovering the
knowledge. This can be achieved by allowing students to have decisions and choice in the topics
of the problems, with the mathematical concepts and underlying foundation consistent.

Prior Knowledge
Many of the topics covered in Math 102, such as basic statistical measures like mean,
median, and mode, have been covered or introduced in a high school mathematics classroom.
They are likely not new concepts to a majority of the students. However, a thorough
understanding of the math behind them, when to use and apply them, and how to actually utilize
them in the real-world, are new concepts for a large number of Math 102 students. Additionally,
incorporating technology and data analysis with these concepts, and being able to think and
reason critically are higher-order skills that are focused on in Math 102.

While there may be a variety of reading levels for these learners, when dealing with the
continuum from students where English is a learned language, students with a variety of learning
disabilities, and honors students, the continued use of mathematical language and terms that have
been introduced and reinforced from the K-12 system to this point will help to bridge any
reading discrepancies among learners. Additionally, the Math Lab and the ISU Math & Writing
Center are available for students to gain additional tutoring support.
Students in this course have met the prerequisites of the course either by placement via
the Maple Placement Test, or have passed Math 011. Students may have been exposed to some
of the topics before in high school math courses, thus yielding learners with prior knowledge and
ability. However, learners are entering at different places in their academic careers and not all
high schools cover the same material. Additionally, 14% of students in the Spring 2015 Math
102 course have taken remedial math courses prior to Math 102, and 16% of students have taken
Math 102 prior and have failed or dropped the course (Indiana State University, 2015b). This
may yield learners who have less ability and experience with mathematics or who have struggled
previously with the concepts.

Processing Style of Instruction for the Learner

From examining the above characteristics about the target learners for these projects,
some key points begin to appear. Students are a wide variety of ages and stages in their college
careers, and have a wide variety of different majors and interests. Students at this age are
undergoing different cognitive stages throughout the years of college as well, which make for a
challenge in developing a curriculum that is relevant and applicable to all levels. These three
new projects will be able to meet many of these new needs. There is adequate scaffolding in each
project that will help learners at all stages progress through the project, regardless of college

level or mathematical ability. The modifications and adaptations that are available for use by
instructors can help these needs be met as well. There is also flexibility in the choices that each
student makes for the individual project. They are not a one-size-fits-all project; rather, students
interests are able to be explored (which type of car am I interested in? What state might I
consider moving when I get a job?)

Design Implications
Because students may not see the long-term importance of the math they are learning, it
is crucial that the projects give examples of real-life applications, thus providing the students
with motivation to use and understand the math involved. Many of the topics in the course are
topics that students will be exposed to in a variety of different career fields, such as statistics,
percentages, understanding graphical representations; having a strong understanding of the math
will benefit them if they are able to make the connection between the classroom and the realworld. Past projects in the course, while mathematically correct and even interesting, did not
make connections with every day experiences for the students.
Since there are a wide variety of students in this course, there is a diverse prior
knowledge base. It is important to design these projects so that students are able to look back at
text and course work to get a starting point if needed. There needs to also be additional
substantial work of applying the concepts to real-world situations, so that students can move
beyond the textbook. By scaffolding the math as well as the critical thinking questions in the
project, it will also help to refresh their memory of some basic rules. However, the projects are
created so that students with great strength in the areas will easily be able to work through the
beginning mathematical and critical thinking to more difficult applications. This will thus meet

the needs of students who need more remedial work in the subject, but also students who have
advanced past the stage of needing extensive practice.
A variety of accommodations are built into the project and made available for those
students that are ELL or who may be struggling with more basic mathematical concepts. The
instructor has the ability to provide students with a template for the Excel files, thus giving them
more direction in the organization and structure of the technology. There are additional Hints
also available, that link students back to the corresponding areas of the text, for those that may be
struggling with the language or concepts used. Highlighting certain areas with a consistent
Questions and Calculate icon also helps provide a visual reference for learners.